In the Northern Hemisphere, trade winds blow from which direction?

• A. From the Southeast
• B. From the Northeast
• C. From the Southwest
• D. From the Northwest

Answer: (B)

Winds at the surface in the tropics are named for where they come from, not where they go. In the Northern Hemisphere, air moving toward the equator is deflected to the right by the Coriolis effect. That makes the surface flow come from the northeast and blow toward the southwest. So the trade winds in this hemisphere originate from the northeast. (In the Southern Hemisphere they come from the southeast due to opposite deflection.)